Heaven's Burn
by ancallis
Summary: Looking at her grief makes him feel like he traveled back in time to when he was an adolescent.


He wouldn't consider himself a drinking man- hell, he used to scoff at the other ninja who'd drink themselves silly- but tonight he craved the burn alcohol gives running down your throat. So, he chose a nondescript bar, away from the ones his friends frequent. The place has a distinct, utterly neutral feel to it. To better explain it, it's almost like that one girl on Gai's team- Tenten, was that her name? He sits down at the counter and orders an extra potent High Ball. Yeah, that's her name. He briefly recalls Gai boasting about his "youthful student" joining Anbu. He didn't really believe she was skilled enough for Anbu, granted, he knew next to nothing about the girl constantly outshone by her teammates. The bartender sets his glass down in front of him. He takes a sip, letting the flavors wash over his tongue.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, mind if I sit with you?" The girl he'd just been thinking about, Tenten, asked. Her skin looked sallow and he could see pronounced under eye circles. Anbu must be tough on her.

He waves her on. "Hm? Yeah, go ahead." He responds. Normally he would've minded, but she didn't seem all too bad. She orders a Moscow Mule and glances at his beverage.

"Glad to see you're not drinking beer, At the jonin parties, that's all the guys seem to drink, save for the occasional sake." She comments.

He looks at his glass and watches the condensation bead and drip down. "Ah, the jonin parties. I remember those."

"Fondly?" She asks.

"Partially. Watching your friends get drunk and do stupid things gets old, though." Her drink arrives and she briefly sips it through a straw.

"Yeah, Neji used to tell me about those." Her face flickers to grief for a second before to one of determination. She grabs her drink and chugs it in one go. "I'm going to be quite frank with you Kakashi- is it alright if I call you that? I believe we're old enough to drop the sensei part- does the death of a teammate ever get easier?" She looks at him. Oh, it wasn't Anbu that made appear so exhausted. He looks at her. Not just superficially. And he sees a young girl drowning in the death of someone she loved. For a moment, he almost saw Rin sitting next to him.

He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it and turns to his drink. "Not quite sure why you're asking _me_ of all people. But, in some ways it does get easier. Only if you let it, though."

She orders another drink. This time, it's just plain sake. They sit in silence for a bit.

"Is it bad of me to be angry at her?" Hinata. So, this is about Neji. "I mean, she's so nice and timid I don't want to hate her, except I see her and just this awful, evil feeling comes over me. I-I…" She stops speaking and nurses the sake, thinking about something. Jesus, she looks like Rin. They had to have been related, somehow. Although he never learned about Rin's family. Family in general was a huge sore topic for him back then.

"I used to know this girl. And she and this boy liked each other quite a lot." He glances over at her. She has set the cup down and is gazing at him with wide eyes. Much too young to have experienced such a loss. "One day, the boy sacrificed himself to save a pitiful loser."

"What happened to the girl?" She asks. He feels his body involuntarily tense. He wasn't sure where he was going with this story.

"She died. In battle."

"No, I don't mean that."

"I don't know." He answers honestly. "I was too wrapped up in my own grief to care about her." He swallows hard. "What you're going through is normal. Of course, who am I to talk about the normality of emotions?"

She smiles slightly and they return to their drinks. The air isn't as awkward as it once was though.

After he finishes, he sets a couple ryo on the counter.

"Hey, Kakashi. Did you seriously use a genjutsu in place of your mask?" She asks, before he goes.

He turns to her. "Don't tell anyone." He laughs, standing up and walking away. Perhaps, he'll come back here next week.


End file.
